A Different Kind of Shine (Part Three)
Title: A Different Kind of Shine
Author: Jenn
Rating: R?...could go up in later chapters.
Length: 2086 for this part
Spoilers: All of Season One
Summary: Quinn is a laid back surfer type. Rachel is... well, Rachel. Inspired by this prompt: community.livejournal.com/rq_meme/1754.html
“Come on San, it’s been forever since you’ve had a party.”
Santana rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to the text Brittany had sent her. “What makes you think Rachel would even go?”
Quinn shrugged as she painted her toe nails. “All you have to do is get Brittany to ask her. Just by watching them interact last weekend, I know she can’t say no to your girlfriend.”
Santana smirked. “Britt does have her wrapped around her finger.”
The blonde scoffed. “She’s not the only one.”
The Latina turned and fixed her best friend with a steady stare. “Says the girl organizing a party just to see Rachel again.”
Quinn capped the nail polish and flexed her toes, admiring her handy work. “I don’t want to date the girl, Santana. I just want to see her unwind, maybe see if she’s interested in a little fun for one night.”
Shaking her head at the blonde’s casual tone, she reached for the bottle of polish. “She’s not like that Quinn. Plus, if you make her one of your conquests and she gets hurt, Brittany is going to be pissed which does not bode well for me. So watch yourself, Fabray.”
“Fuck, San. I don’t sleep around with every person I meet. If Rachel says no, that will be that. I won’t force her anything.”
Santana sighed and nodded slightly. “Alright, Q. Party at mine this Saturday.”
Quinn grinned and leaned forward to hug her friend but was stopped with a glare from the brunette. “Don’t push it, Q.”
************
Rachel was not entirely sure why she was here or how Britt had managed to convince her to accompany her. Santana’s apartment is filled with people she’s never met and some unidentifiable rap song is pumping through the walls in the living room. She’d been there for almost an hour now, and while Brittany had made it a point to check on her every few minutes, Rachel had spent most of her time on the balcony.
The air was still slightly chilled, so the rest of the party goers only ventured outside to smoke or occasionally engage in promiscuous activities. Rachel had gone mostly unnoticed and was grateful. She’d already spoken to two guys who had both slurred their way through a proposition. When Rachel had responded, both of them had seemed put off by her vocabulary and retreated back into the apartment.
Rachel thought another thirty minutes would qualify as a polite amount of time to spend at her friend’s party before saying goodnight. She had decided to spend her last half hour out on the balcony in hopes of avoiding Quinn. So far she’d been successful.
The blonde had left Rachel in a state of unease. Her casual attitude and somewhat arrogant confidence both intrigued and distressed her. Finding the blonde attractive added to her state of confusion and Rachel felt the need to be cautious. Quinn was very well the type of person who could lead Rachel down a path she had no intention of going. Her life followed a well thought out map and it would not be in her best interest to lose focus to some gorgeous, hazel eyed distraction.
As if on cue, said distraction opened the backdoor and joined Rachel on the balcony.
“There you are.”
Rachel found herself tongue tied once again but managed to push through the haze. “Here I am.”
Quinn grinned and moved closer to the brunette. “Why are you hiding out here in the shadows?”
The blonde settled her weight on the railing where Rachel was leaning. Their shoulders pressed lightly against one another and Rachel felt a jolt of something at the touch. She fought urge to sigh. Her body had never had this, visceral, of a reaction to another person before meeting Quinn.
“I’m not really the party type.”
Quinn turned her head and tucked her chin on her own shoulder, smiling at Rachel. “So what kind of type are you, Broadway?”
Rachel fought her own smile at the demure expression on the other girl’s face. “I don’t think I’m any one kind of type, Hollywood.”
Quinn smiled again and it felt more genuine than the seductive ones she’d been using so far. Rachel was refreshing. But she had a game to play, so she continued. “I bet you’re lots of people’s type.”
The brunette flushed at the subtle line and ducked her head. “You’d be surprised.”
Quinn faltered at the slight insecurity in her tone but Rachel lifted her eyes and all traces of it were gone. She was impressed.
Rachel tilted her head slightly. “What kind of type do you think I am?”
Quinn did a little mental fist pump. Rachel was flirting back. “Well, if I have to choose, I’d say: gorgeous, smart, opinionated, an over achiever on occasion, in control, a list maker, polite to a fault, kind, maybe slightly over confident, and talented.”
The brunette listened to her tick off characteristics. As she went on, Rachel found herself growing tenser as Quinn listed every personality trait that had ever been used to describe her, just in different words. Rachel heard things like: over bearing, grating, controlling, and anal. Turning her eyes back to the scene beyond the balcony, she nodded tightly and stayed quiet.
Quinn frowned and studied the girl beside her. She’d obviously said something wrong and was trying to come up with a way to fix it when Rachel spoke quietly.
“You don’t know me, Quinn.”
The tone wasn’t defensive or angry, just matter of fact and maybe a little resigned. Quinn felt remorseful that she’d upset her but thinks about her next play. “But I’d like too.”
Rachel was quiet so Quinn tried again, angling her body toward the brunette. “Have dinner with me.”
Rachel shook her head and dropped her chin, chuckling. “It would never work.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Eating together? Maybe a little conversation?”
“That’s not why you’re asking me.”
Quinn felt a bit of irritation swell in her chest. Did Rachel think she had her figured out? She certainly wasn’t used to being dismissed so easily, so she didn’t really think about her next response much. “I’m not proposing marriage, Rachel, just one dinner.”
“I’m just being realistic, Quinn. I am not going to sleep with you and you don’t want to commit so there’s no gain for either of us.”
Quinn shook her head incredulously. “Why does it have to be about commitment? Can’t we just have fun?”
Rachel looked at her and bit her lip before looking away. “I don’t operate that way, Quinn.”
Quinn leaned away from the rail and turned back to the view in front of them, sighing. “Are you always this controlling?”
The brunette blanched and turned to look at the blonde, her voice small when she spoke. “What?”
Quinn seemed to notice and turned back to face her, shrugging lightly. “That just seems really uptight, I guess.”
Controlling. Uptight. Rachel mentally tallied the number of times she’d been called those two things, not surprised when the majority seemed to stem from her ex boyfriend Finn. For whatever reason, it stung coming from Quinn. She wasn’t sure why, but she had hoped the beautiful blonde would think differently of her. She really shouldn’t be surprised.
Rachel caught her gaze and offered a polite smile and nodded slightly in agreement. “Yes, I’ve been told that before. I should be going, it’s getting colder. It was nice seeing you again, Quinn.”
The blonde frowned at the glint in the brunette’s eyes, hoping it wasn’t actually tears. Before she could even think about apologizing, Rachel moved inside and headed toward the door.
Brittany saw her in the entry and made her way over. Quinn watched Brittany frown before hugging her roommate and waving Santana toward her. The dancer pressed a kiss to the Latina’s lips before wrapping an arm around Rachel’s waist and moving out the front door. Santana watched them go and then Quinn winced when her best friend found her across the room and began to make her way over, a scowl on her face.
Shit.
************
Quinn Fabray was not above apologizing. She’s just not fond of it. After everything she’d been through, she had decided to live the way she wanted and say what she thought without ever having to be sorry. The thing is…she was sorry.
Almost immediately after she had said what she did to Rachel, she regretted it. Not because it put a wrench in her plans to lure Rachel into her game, but because she found herself not wanting to see those big brown eyes fill with tears, like ever. The whole concept was strange to her, considering she hardly ever let her feelings get involved in these kind of situations.
She didn’t need the scathing lecture she’d received from Santana to know that she wanted to fix this thing with Rachel. The truth was, Rachel intrigued the hell out of her. She wanted to know why she’d been sitting on the beach that morning, watching the sun rise. She wanted to know why she felt the need to be so in control of everything and who it was that had made the same mistake Quinn had by calling her on it. And heaven help her, Quinn wanted to know what made Broadway so damn special.
She wanted to know Rachel.
She still didn’t want to date Rachel, because Quinn Fabray did not see that kind of commitment in her future any time soon. But she wouldn’t mind befriending the brunette. And if Rachel eventually wanted to sleep with her, well that was a perk she would enjoy.
************
Rachel was tired, bordering on exhausted actually and she hadn’t eaten anything since last night. So the idea that she was hallucinating when she saw Quinn Fabray leaning against the door of her dorm room wasn’t quite an impossibility.
“Quinn.”
The blonde straightened immediately and stepped aside for Rachel to access her door. “Hi.”
Rachel frowned and stared at the other girl in confusion. “Can I help you?”
Quinn stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans and looked at Rachel imploringly. “Could I talk to you?”
Pulling her keys from her purse, she sighed. “I’m not sure there’s anything else to say.”
Rachel unlocked the door and entered her room; Quinn took the open door as an invitation and followed her inside. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I really am. I get a little overconfident in my ability to read people and it was unfair of me to judge you that way, especially since I hardly know you.”
Rachel turned and found her hazel eyes, searching for any sign of insincerity. Finding none, she sighed and gestured for Quinn to sit down. “I accept your apology, Quinn.”
Quinn smiled and took the spot next to Rachel on her bed. “Look, I know we’re different and we lead different lives, but I’d still like to know you.”
The brunette looked unsure so Quinn forged on. “I respect your decision about seeing each other outside of a friendship, I truly do. But I think we could actually work as friends and our best friends are now joined at the hip so it’s beneficial to us both that we get along.”
Rachel looked at her carefully. “Can I be blunt?”
Quinn smirked slightly. “I kind of assumed that was your default setting.”
Rachel returned a small smile and then held her gaze. “I didn’t figure you as the type of person who would put so much effort into something that offers so little gain.”
Quinn shrugged. “Honestly, beside Santana, I don’t have many close friends. By many, read none. I’d like to work at it because I think you’d be a pretty great one. Plus I think you are one of the most interesting people I’ve met in awhile, if not slightly strange.”
Rachel watched the teasing smile form on the blonde’s lips and shook her head. “Do you often insult the people you’re trying to befriend?”
“Actually, I do.”
The brunette chuckled and Quinn smiled at the sound and held her hand out. “So what do you say? Friends?”
Rachel looked at her hand for a moment and then back into her hazel eyes. She knew this was probably a dangerous idea, considering the way the blonde made her feel. Quinn was totally new territory and it was a bit terrifying.
And exhilarating.
Extending her hand, she grasped Quinn’s softly and smiled. “Friends.”
Author: Jenn
Rating: R?...could go up in later chapters.
Length: 2086 for this part
Spoilers: All of Season One
Summary: Quinn is a laid back surfer type. Rachel is... well, Rachel. Inspired by this prompt: community.livejournal.com/rq_meme/1754.html
“Come on San, it’s been forever since you’ve had a party.”
Santana rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to the text Brittany had sent her. “What makes you think Rachel would even go?”
Quinn shrugged as she painted her toe nails. “All you have to do is get Brittany to ask her. Just by watching them interact last weekend, I know she can’t say no to your girlfriend.”
Santana smirked. “Britt does have her wrapped around her finger.”
The blonde scoffed. “She’s not the only one.”
The Latina turned and fixed her best friend with a steady stare. “Says the girl organizing a party just to see Rachel again.”
Quinn capped the nail polish and flexed her toes, admiring her handy work. “I don’t want to date the girl, Santana. I just want to see her unwind, maybe see if she’s interested in a little fun for one night.”
Shaking her head at the blonde’s casual tone, she reached for the bottle of polish. “She’s not like that Quinn. Plus, if you make her one of your conquests and she gets hurt, Brittany is going to be pissed which does not bode well for me. So watch yourself, Fabray.”
“Fuck, San. I don’t sleep around with every person I meet. If Rachel says no, that will be that. I won’t force her anything.”
Santana sighed and nodded slightly. “Alright, Q. Party at mine this Saturday.”
Quinn grinned and leaned forward to hug her friend but was stopped with a glare from the brunette. “Don’t push it, Q.”
************
Rachel was not entirely sure why she was here or how Britt had managed to convince her to accompany her. Santana’s apartment is filled with people she’s never met and some unidentifiable rap song is pumping through the walls in the living room. She’d been there for almost an hour now, and while Brittany had made it a point to check on her every few minutes, Rachel had spent most of her time on the balcony.
The air was still slightly chilled, so the rest of the party goers only ventured outside to smoke or occasionally engage in promiscuous activities. Rachel had gone mostly unnoticed and was grateful. She’d already spoken to two guys who had both slurred their way through a proposition. When Rachel had responded, both of them had seemed put off by her vocabulary and retreated back into the apartment.
Rachel thought another thirty minutes would qualify as a polite amount of time to spend at her friend’s party before saying goodnight. She had decided to spend her last half hour out on the balcony in hopes of avoiding Quinn. So far she’d been successful.
The blonde had left Rachel in a state of unease. Her casual attitude and somewhat arrogant confidence both intrigued and distressed her. Finding the blonde attractive added to her state of confusion and Rachel felt the need to be cautious. Quinn was very well the type of person who could lead Rachel down a path she had no intention of going. Her life followed a well thought out map and it would not be in her best interest to lose focus to some gorgeous, hazel eyed distraction.
As if on cue, said distraction opened the backdoor and joined Rachel on the balcony.
“There you are.”
Rachel found herself tongue tied once again but managed to push through the haze. “Here I am.”
Quinn grinned and moved closer to the brunette. “Why are you hiding out here in the shadows?”
The blonde settled her weight on the railing where Rachel was leaning. Their shoulders pressed lightly against one another and Rachel felt a jolt of something at the touch. She fought urge to sigh. Her body had never had this, visceral, of a reaction to another person before meeting Quinn.
“I’m not really the party type.”
Quinn turned her head and tucked her chin on her own shoulder, smiling at Rachel. “So what kind of type are you, Broadway?”
Rachel fought her own smile at the demure expression on the other girl’s face. “I don’t think I’m any one kind of type, Hollywood.”
Quinn smiled again and it felt more genuine than the seductive ones she’d been using so far. Rachel was refreshing. But she had a game to play, so she continued. “I bet you’re lots of people’s type.”
The brunette flushed at the subtle line and ducked her head. “You’d be surprised.”
Quinn faltered at the slight insecurity in her tone but Rachel lifted her eyes and all traces of it were gone. She was impressed.
Rachel tilted her head slightly. “What kind of type do you think I am?”
Quinn did a little mental fist pump. Rachel was flirting back. “Well, if I have to choose, I’d say: gorgeous, smart, opinionated, an over achiever on occasion, in control, a list maker, polite to a fault, kind, maybe slightly over confident, and talented.”
The brunette listened to her tick off characteristics. As she went on, Rachel found herself growing tenser as Quinn listed every personality trait that had ever been used to describe her, just in different words. Rachel heard things like: over bearing, grating, controlling, and anal. Turning her eyes back to the scene beyond the balcony, she nodded tightly and stayed quiet.
Quinn frowned and studied the girl beside her. She’d obviously said something wrong and was trying to come up with a way to fix it when Rachel spoke quietly.
“You don’t know me, Quinn.”
The tone wasn’t defensive or angry, just matter of fact and maybe a little resigned. Quinn felt remorseful that she’d upset her but thinks about her next play. “But I’d like too.”
Rachel was quiet so Quinn tried again, angling her body toward the brunette. “Have dinner with me.”
Rachel shook her head and dropped her chin, chuckling. “It would never work.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “Eating together? Maybe a little conversation?”
“That’s not why you’re asking me.”
Quinn felt a bit of irritation swell in her chest. Did Rachel think she had her figured out? She certainly wasn’t used to being dismissed so easily, so she didn’t really think about her next response much. “I’m not proposing marriage, Rachel, just one dinner.”
“I’m just being realistic, Quinn. I am not going to sleep with you and you don’t want to commit so there’s no gain for either of us.”
Quinn shook her head incredulously. “Why does it have to be about commitment? Can’t we just have fun?”
Rachel looked at her and bit her lip before looking away. “I don’t operate that way, Quinn.”
Quinn leaned away from the rail and turned back to the view in front of them, sighing. “Are you always this controlling?”
The brunette blanched and turned to look at the blonde, her voice small when she spoke. “What?”
Quinn seemed to notice and turned back to face her, shrugging lightly. “That just seems really uptight, I guess.”
Controlling. Uptight. Rachel mentally tallied the number of times she’d been called those two things, not surprised when the majority seemed to stem from her ex boyfriend Finn. For whatever reason, it stung coming from Quinn. She wasn’t sure why, but she had hoped the beautiful blonde would think differently of her. She really shouldn’t be surprised.
Rachel caught her gaze and offered a polite smile and nodded slightly in agreement. “Yes, I’ve been told that before. I should be going, it’s getting colder. It was nice seeing you again, Quinn.”
The blonde frowned at the glint in the brunette’s eyes, hoping it wasn’t actually tears. Before she could even think about apologizing, Rachel moved inside and headed toward the door.
Brittany saw her in the entry and made her way over. Quinn watched Brittany frown before hugging her roommate and waving Santana toward her. The dancer pressed a kiss to the Latina’s lips before wrapping an arm around Rachel’s waist and moving out the front door. Santana watched them go and then Quinn winced when her best friend found her across the room and began to make her way over, a scowl on her face.
Shit.
************
Quinn Fabray was not above apologizing. She’s just not fond of it. After everything she’d been through, she had decided to live the way she wanted and say what she thought without ever having to be sorry. The thing is…she was sorry.
Almost immediately after she had said what she did to Rachel, she regretted it. Not because it put a wrench in her plans to lure Rachel into her game, but because she found herself not wanting to see those big brown eyes fill with tears, like ever. The whole concept was strange to her, considering she hardly ever let her feelings get involved in these kind of situations.
She didn’t need the scathing lecture she’d received from Santana to know that she wanted to fix this thing with Rachel. The truth was, Rachel intrigued the hell out of her. She wanted to know why she’d been sitting on the beach that morning, watching the sun rise. She wanted to know why she felt the need to be so in control of everything and who it was that had made the same mistake Quinn had by calling her on it. And heaven help her, Quinn wanted to know what made Broadway so damn special.
She wanted to know Rachel.
She still didn’t want to date Rachel, because Quinn Fabray did not see that kind of commitment in her future any time soon. But she wouldn’t mind befriending the brunette. And if Rachel eventually wanted to sleep with her, well that was a perk she would enjoy.
************
Rachel was tired, bordering on exhausted actually and she hadn’t eaten anything since last night. So the idea that she was hallucinating when she saw Quinn Fabray leaning against the door of her dorm room wasn’t quite an impossibility.
“Quinn.”
The blonde straightened immediately and stepped aside for Rachel to access her door. “Hi.”
Rachel frowned and stared at the other girl in confusion. “Can I help you?”
Quinn stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans and looked at Rachel imploringly. “Could I talk to you?”
Pulling her keys from her purse, she sighed. “I’m not sure there’s anything else to say.”
Rachel unlocked the door and entered her room; Quinn took the open door as an invitation and followed her inside. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I really am. I get a little overconfident in my ability to read people and it was unfair of me to judge you that way, especially since I hardly know you.”
Rachel turned and found her hazel eyes, searching for any sign of insincerity. Finding none, she sighed and gestured for Quinn to sit down. “I accept your apology, Quinn.”
Quinn smiled and took the spot next to Rachel on her bed. “Look, I know we’re different and we lead different lives, but I’d still like to know you.”
The brunette looked unsure so Quinn forged on. “I respect your decision about seeing each other outside of a friendship, I truly do. But I think we could actually work as friends and our best friends are now joined at the hip so it’s beneficial to us both that we get along.”
Rachel looked at her carefully. “Can I be blunt?”
Quinn smirked slightly. “I kind of assumed that was your default setting.”
Rachel returned a small smile and then held her gaze. “I didn’t figure you as the type of person who would put so much effort into something that offers so little gain.”
Quinn shrugged. “Honestly, beside Santana, I don’t have many close friends. By many, read none. I’d like to work at it because I think you’d be a pretty great one. Plus I think you are one of the most interesting people I’ve met in awhile, if not slightly strange.”
Rachel watched the teasing smile form on the blonde’s lips and shook her head. “Do you often insult the people you’re trying to befriend?”
“Actually, I do.”
The brunette chuckled and Quinn smiled at the sound and held her hand out. “So what do you say? Friends?”
Rachel looked at her hand for a moment and then back into her hazel eyes. She knew this was probably a dangerous idea, considering the way the blonde made her feel. Quinn was totally new territory and it was a bit terrifying.
And exhilarating.
Extending her hand, she grasped Quinn’s softly and smiled. “Friends.”